


Breaking Heart

by RobinPlaysTrumpet15



Series: Limits [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Heartache, Heartbreak, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Napping, Not Canon Compliant - Kingdom Hearts III, Pain, Post-Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Sleep Deprivation, Soul Bond, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts I, minor description of pain, sora still just needs a bunch of hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 13:43:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17684588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinPlaysTrumpet15/pseuds/RobinPlaysTrumpet15
Summary: They've let Sora avoid them for too long. He just continues to get worse, and it's going to start causing some serious problems. Roxas and Riku need to act before things go irreversibly wrong.





	Breaking Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this one lives up to the first installment of this series. There aren't really any spoilers in this specific story, per se, but it is still post kingdom hearts III and I felt it was important to include the tag just in case. So, please keep that in mind. Anyway, for this story to fully make sense, I would suggest reading the first story of the series first: Lone Heart. Thanks!

Sora had gone from avoiding Ven and Roxas and Xion, to avoiding them and almost everyone else. Which turned into avoiding Ansem to stave off any new check ups. Which eventually led to avoiding Riku too.

And that left Sora the one option of secluding himself in his room. Riku would appear every once in awhile because it was still his room too and that’s where his clothes were, and Sora was still happy to use him as a pillow as often as he was allowed. But during the day, Riku would encourage him to come out and train with them or eat with everyone else or go and explore the town. But he never went with them.

Eventually, Sora found himself… looking forward to the outings. Not because he would go, but because it meant there wouldn’t be people around. He was more likely to come out of his room and wander the halls, still hiding when he came across Aeleus or Even or one of the others.

He didn’t feel better. He never felt better. He only slept because Riku was there to sleep with him, but it wasn’t quite helping the way it had at first.

Sometimes Sora could feel when it was Xion or Ven coming to check on him. He could feel their approach. His chest would warm up and begin to tighten in a good way and everything would feel like the color red for a few moments. And hearing their voices on the other side of the door was both calming and anxiety inducing at the same time. And for a brief few seconds, Sora would contemplate opening the door and stepping out just to look at them, to see them or hug them or agree to go out and eat some ice cream or visit another world to go to the beach.

But he never did. He wouldn’t. It didn’t matter what Ansem said. Sora was sixteen years old. He hadn’t known about their hearts living in his before, and he’d functioned perfectly fine then, so it stood to reason that Sora could do it on his own now.

Roxas was a different story. Roxas sometimes wouldn’t even knock.

He would just let himself into the room, fix Sora with a look, and demand that he join them. He would damn near storm up to the side of the bed or the chair that Sora had sat himself on, and just all but force Sora to his feet to follow him outside.

These were usually the only times that Sora would see the others. Because sure, Sora was strong enough to fight Roxas off and tell him no, but sometimes, there really was just no telling Roxas no. It just wasn’t option. Roxas wouldn’t allow it.

Usually, these instances only came at the utmost end of need when Sora hadn’t been spotted outside of his and Riku’s room in days and no one could quite confirm if he’d been eating at all. Even Riku.

And the longer this all went on, the worse Sora began to feel, and the more he just wanted to go home. He wanted to see his parents and sleep in his childhood bed and sit on the beach and watch the stars and climb the paopu tree. He wanted to play around in the surf like there was nothing else to worry about and catch fish with Riku that they’d sometimes eat and sometimes through back. He missed Tidus and Wakka and Selphie and the way they’d all play blitzball together. They could all just explore the island over and over again, pretending that everything was brand new, as if they’d never seen the secret place or the door inside or the hidden clearing in the woods where fireflies would surround them like stars at night.

Sora wanted all of this so bad his chest ached for it.

But not as much as it ached for the presence of the hearts he’d once protected.

And that was why he was still here.

*

It had been nearly two weeks, and Roxas was starting to drag him out of his room almost every day. His chest still filled up with fuzzy red feelings when Roxas approached, but his head dreaded when the blonde would appear on the other side of the door.

But that Friday afternoon was different. He knew Roxas was there, but he wasn’t alone as he typically was.

The door opened and the first one through was Riku. He had an unusually resigned, heavy look on his face.

“Sora-”

“I’m not hungry, I don’t want to go outside, I don’t want to hang out,” he cut Riku off. “I just want to lay here, read this book, and take a nap.”

He hadn’t been sleeping as well anymore. Even with Riku there, it was a challenge and a battle that Sora was losing. Napping through the day for short intervals of time just seemed to be his best bet.

Roxas stepped around Riku and walked up to Sora with his chin lifted.

“It’s not a request, Sora.”

He scoffed lightly, ignoring the way a sharp pin prick pain began to grow in the center of his chest. The look in Roxas’ eyes hurt. But he just glared back at him.

“With you, it never is-”

Roxas suddenly lashed out, one hand gripping Sora’s wrist and yanking him forward. He dropped his book, losing his page as it landed shut on the bedspread.

“Hey!”

“This isn’t a game, Sora.” Roxas’ voice was dangerously pointed and sharp. “You cannot keep running away from us. You need to let us be with you, and you have to let Ansem keep monitoring your heart.”

Sora scowled back at the growing identical one on his other’s features.

“Oh, yeah?” he challenged. “How come? I don’t need you three to survive like a normal person-”

Roxas growled. “Because- maybe-” he gritted out through his teeth, “if you would actually come out and listen to what Ansem has to say, you’d know that what you’re doing? It. Could. Kill. You.”

Sora’s eyes went wide, staring up at Roxas. And then he was noticing something in those blue eyes that he hadn’t picked up on before. Fear. Hurt. Barely contained panic. Rage. Eyes that were starting to go a little pink around the edges, cheeks flushed in anger, a hard set to his jaw, lips pressed hard together and gnawed at by worrisome teeth.

Sora went limp, unable to move or even drag his eyes away from the blonde teen. Riku was still standing somewhere near the door, or maybe he’d moved by now, and Sora so wanted to just tear his eyes away from the look on Roxas’ face. He wanted to get some confirmation that what he’d just heard could possibly be the truth. He needed to know. Needed to hear it. From Riku.

But he just kept looking, watching, as Roxas began to soften. His fight was leaving him through his unclenching teeth and the weakening hold on Sora’s wrist.

“I know,” Roxas started on an unsteady breath, “that you don’t want to seem weak. I know that you want to pull through this by yourself…”

Finally Sora could look away when Roxas dropped his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Slowly, his gaze slid across the wall and the open door and then to his other side where Riku had found a place for himself. Riku looked just as lost as Sora felt. His mouth hung open uselessly, offering nothing. No words, no explanation, no comfort, no encouragement. And his eyes just watched on like he was losing Sora right in front of him.

“But…” Roxas finally continued, “we need you too…”

Something dripped onto Sora’s shirt unexpectedly. There was a small circle of dampness there, and it was joined by another and another until Sora realized that Roxas was crying.

The blonde’s shoulders shook slightly, his grip wavering ever looser on Sora’s wrist.

The pain widened, encompassing his sternum and then his ribs and his lungs and his heart. It tightened his throat and tickled his nose and pricked behind his eyes. His throat burned something fierce and he tried to swallow against it, wishing it would just go away, just leave. He sucked in a pained, gasped breath, suddenly finding his vision swimming with colors and wetness traveling down his cheeks and along his jaw. It dropped of his chin and tracked down his throat.

When had Roxas let go of his wrist? When had he found himself wrapped up in two pairs of arms with a face pressed into his chest and a cheek pressed against his hair? When had he started full on sobbing?

“God, you can’t do this to us, Sora…” Roxas whined, the hard edges of his tone nowhere to be found.

Sora just sobbed again, tightening his arm around Roxas. When had he done that?

“You’ve got to let us help…” Riku whispered near his ear. “You don’t have to do everything on your own…”

And god, that just made him tired. Everything just seemed to drain straight out of him- all the fight, all the stubbornness, all the persistence and childish wishing that it would all go away. His eyes fell closed and he just sat there, curling one around around Roxas’ shoulders and gripping onto Riku’s arm with his other hand.

He wanted to just drift… leave this behind again in favor of whatever realm of sleep he’d been visiting so often out of pure exhaustion. But he didn’t. Not this time.

It felt like hours later that their cries turned into slowly softening sniffles. Their grips loosened on one another, Roxas fully climbing onto the bed and settling on his knees to lean back and look at Sora. Riku’s weight settled onto the edge of the mattress as he too leaned away again, leaving one hand settled comfortingly between Sora’s shoulder blades.

He looked at Roxas and then at Riku and back again. Jeez, they both looked a wreck. And he supposed he probably did too. Their eyes were all red rimmed and wet and puffy, and their faces were splotchy. Their shoulders all seemed to droop in an exhausted, saggy way.

But no one seemed to know what to say at this point. Although, Sora knew that whatever they said now, he’d go along with it. Just as long as he didn’t have to walk anywhere. He wasn’t sure he had the energy to walk anymore.

Roxas swallowed, sniffed hard against his tear-runny nose, and cleared his throat and swallowed again. Sora sobbed out a little laugh at him.

A deep breath. “So… we’d actually come in here for, uhm…”

“Ansem wants to examine our hearts again,” Riku finished for him. “All of us, this time. You and Ven and Roxas and Xion and me.”

“Please?” His other fixed him with a pleading look, like he was still expecting Sora to decline again. It sharpened the middle of the pain.

Sora made a wet, choked kind of sound, fully intending to reply out loud. But he just ended up with watery eyes and rapid nodding when he found he couldn’t agree fast enough.

Riku’s laugh was aborted and wet and almost another sob. But he just smiled at Sora with a bright look in his vibrant teal blue eyes that Sora couldn’t remember seeing in awhile. Not since the Mark of Mastery…

“Come on, then,” Riku said, standing with Roxas. “Ansem’s wanted to run this test for a few days now.”

Sora whined and reached his arms up at Riku like he was a child again. The silver haired teen’s face softened even more as he leaned down and scooped Sora into his arms.

Sora twined his arms around Riku’s neck and laid his ear against his shoulder, trying to listen for his heartbeat. He didn’t find it, too far away, but Riku was still warm as he always was and that was good enough.

He heard Roxas chuckle wetly at them.

“Maybe after this we’ll all get some sleep…”

Distantly, Sora wanted to ask about that. Had the others not been sleeping too? Was he keeping them up at night with his presence, or lack thereof? But his tongue was heavy and sticky and he knew he wouldn’t fall asleep here this time, but his mouth was too tired to say anything.

He could ask later.

*

Sora found himself once again sitting in the exam chair, clad in another soft blue patterned hospital gown and heather gray sweatpants. He suspected that he was going to start spending a lot of time in those two things.

Ansem had, admittedly, only meant to scan Sora again and get more readings on his heart and soul. But once he’d laid eyes on the three of them as they entered, Sora curled up in Riku’s chest and carried bridal style, he’d become much more concerned than he had been.

So he’d followed through with another physical exam as well. And the results were more than a little concerning. Sora had lost more weight, his reflexes weren’t responding as well, his blood pressure was higher than normal. When Ansem sat down and asked him simple questions, Sora found himself losing his train of thought and forgetting memories that he was asked to recall.

Ven and Xion came in in the middle of the exam, and the distress in their expressions added a new kind of tension to the room.

While they waited for the computer to run its tests on the scans they’d taken of Sora again, Ansem sat them all down on the floor to talk. Sora was placed in Riku’s lap, leaning back against his chest and holding his knees close to his own body.

Ansem sat down in front of them, looking each of them in the eye in turn before starting.

“Now, I can make a few observations before the results come back because they are obvious,” he started seriously. “Ventus, Xion, Roxas, the three of you are faring better than Sora, spending so much time together. However, Sora’s physical health is deteriorating at an alarming rate, currently more likely due to his lack of sleep than anything else.”

“Lack of sleep?” Roxas cut in incredulously. “He naps constantly through the day!”

Ansem held up a placating hand, silencing the teen. “I know. But it is not consistent, nor is it good enough to allow Sora’s body and mind to continue in good working order. Would you agree, Sora?”

Sora’s gaze had wandered until it had gone unfocused, fixed on a point just past Ansem. But after a second, he shook himself and looked at the man fully, nodding slightly when the words began to make sense.

“Yeah…”

Ansem gave the others a sort of pointed look that just said, “see?”.

“Exactly. Now, we will know more once the computers are finished but for now, I’d like the three of you to just sit tight here for a bit-”

“Master,” Ienzo called from the monitor, “the results are back.” His tone was surprised. Like it was almost alarming how quickly the results were finished.

“Ah,” Ansem said, pushing himself to his feet with a grunt. “Perfect. Let’s take a look, shall we?”

Sora thought that he should stand and follow. He thought about how he should move his arms and leave Riku’s lap and get up, but nothing happened. His fingers twitched slightly, but none of him moved to follow.

Oh well…

*

Riku tried to listen as he watched Ienzo’s face grow more and more pinched. Ansem had his back to them, so Riku couldn’t see his expression, but from the darkening look Ienzo was sporting, whatever the data turned out to be was not good.

Ansem pointed to something on the screen and whispered urgently to his pupil beside him. Ienzo scowled and leaned closer, his face now also hidden. Damn it.

Ven bumped his shoulder against Riku’s.

Riku turned and looked. Ven leaned closer and whispered to him.

“I’m pretty sure I just heard them say something about a soulbond and something breaking,” Ven hissed gently into his ear.

Riku’s blood ran cold. His heart beat harder in his chest. Sora’s weight leaned further back into him, the dazed, spaced out look retreating slightly from his eyes and he turned his head back at him. The older teen made a comforting sound down at the brunette, taking a steadying breath. He leaned and pressed his mouth against Sora’s temple in a not-quite kiss. Sora seemed to accept it and settled more firmly against him.

Ansem cleared his throat and turned back to them. He didn’t start right away, just looked at them, then at Sora sadly.

“What’s wrong?” Xion asked softly.

“Well…” Ansem said, his eyebrows pinching together as he studied the five of them. “This is going to sound scary, but…”

Riku bit back the yell that threatened to bubble up out of his chest. “Ansem, please… tell us.”

The man sighed, defeated. “Sora’s heart is breaking. We’re not sure why yet. We will have to study the data much more closely to find an answer, but that is what we can tell for now. It seems that the soulbonds he’s created are what are keeping him… together, for now.”

“What does that mean?” Ven’s voice cracked.

“He shares a bond with you three, having held your hearts with his. But Riku, the bond he has with you is different. Your souls aren’t only connected, they seem to be… one, in a way. You are still completely separate, but your souls have been reshaped to fit together like puzzle pieces.”

Riku watched the man with curious eyes. Sora had perked up at this point, too. His arms loosened from around his knees, relaxing into a more open position as he listened.

“We will look for an explanation, but for now our best suggestions are for the five of you to… stick together,” Ansem finished. “We can help with that as much as possible. If you wish, we could move a few beds into one of the bigger rooms in the castle. But otherwise, it will be on you five to look out for one another.”

None of them responded for a moment, sitting in a stunned silence. Slowly, they began glancing between themselves, each finding their gazes wandering to Sora, who still hadn’t said a word.

“Ienzo, would you mind finding Aeleus and Dilan to help move them all closer, please?” Ansem said, still watching them for a reaction.

The blue haired scientist nodded, leaving the room.

Finally, Riku spoke.

“Sora?”

Slowly, blue eyes turned to find his. Riku smiled at him, knowing the look came out a little tight.

“What’s going on up here?” he asked, tapping the younger teen’s temple, his touch as light as air.

Sora hummed, long and low for a second or two. “Nap…”

Riku laughed out of pure shock. He could hear Xion and Ven laugh too. Roxas didn’t.

“Yeah?” Riku chortled. “You want to nap again?”

Sora nodded almost sleepily, the motion carrying his head down to drop to Riku’s shoulder again.

“Okay, okay,” he agreed. He shifted and stood, getting Sora to his feet and letting him walk this time. The others followed suit. “Let’s see if we can arrange that.”

Xion made some comment about going and napping outside where it was warm with sun and smelled like flowers. Sora didn’t protest. So they shuffled their way from the room, and back out through all the intersecting hallways. Riku caught a look and a nod from Ansem on their way out.

Sora’s heart was breaking…

How exactly did one fix a broken heart?

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope you liked this. Please let me know what you thought and if you would like to see this series continued. Thanks!


End file.
